Duggal Brings David LaChapelle’s Latest Body of Work to Life

Duggal Brings David LaChapelle’s Latest Body of Work to Life

A consummate innovator and modern artist, David LaChapelle is responsible for the aesthetic of a generation. Having started his career in the 80’s under the all-seeing eye of Andy Warhol, he quickly became celebrity portraitist of note, capturing the defining images of the most captivating personalities of our era, including Muhammad Ali, Elizabeth Taylor, Hillary Clinton, Madonna, David Beckham and Lady Gaga.

Though renowned for his commercial work and magazine spreads for Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and Rolling Stone, David’s passion lies in his fine art photography. The latest collection of which, “Still Life”, is being exhibited at The Paul Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea.

The body of work, a series of large-scale photographs depicting retired wax figures of celebrities in varying degrees of disrepair, is his latest meditation on fame. In it he seems to be playing with the idea that celebrity, notoriety and fame are things which don’t wither and decay under the slow drip of time, but are structures which society erects and under whose weight, can be razed.

Perhaps the most striking part of “Still Life” is David’s “Last Supper” collection, a series of portraits of the wax heads of each apostle and Jesus. When assembled together, the pieces which make up the “Last Supper” feel like David’s effort to bridge the chasm time’s carved between past and present; the chasm between classical masters and the kitsch of the modern wax museum, which seems ever on the cusp of outdated-ness.

Regardless of intent, the images are provocative, perhaps more so in their departure from David’s body of work than in their content. It is in these examples of a constant forward movement that Duggal prides itself in being able to partner with such a culturally significant personality by providing the art prints of all of David’s photos for this body of work. Our team, on every level, tried and succeeded in matching David’s dedication and passion for his work in order to provide prints worthy of the artist’s name.

In working on “Still Life”, David had occasion to visit Duggal’s facilities to review prints and discuss methods for executing his vision. During this time he was gracious enough to allow us to follow and shoot him and our master printer, Ken Bledsoe, as their process unfolded. Below you’ll find the HD video of this rare glimpse at a top-level pshotographer participating in his craft.